Intex to launch five new sub Rs. 10,000 phones by October

Aiming to tap the growing demand for smartphones in small cities, homegrown mobile handset maker Intex Technologies will launch five new devices priced below Rs. 10,000 by October this year.

The company would also launch five new tablets in the current fiscal.

"Smartphones is an evolved category in India for multinationals but it was a slow paced game for domestic companies. Off late, consumers have started taking note of domestic smartphones which clearly indicates that the market has opened up for companies like Intex," says Intex Technologies GM (Mobile Business) Sanjay Kumar.

Intex made a foray into the smartphone space last week with the launch of AQUA 4.0. However, its competitors like Micromax and Karbonn have already entered the segment.

The company believes that "this is the best time to enter into smartphone market".

Intex would be targetting tier 2 and tier 3 cities, where it has a strong presence, for the sales of its devices.

"We have always seen tier 2 and 3 cities as the potential market for any of our businesses. These remain strong markets for smartphones category as well. There is an upsurge in demand for smartphones in cities particularly with population above 5 lakhs and we are aggressively tapping these markets through new launches," he added.

Intex AQUA 4.0 is priced at Rs. 5,490. The company would be launching five new models by the end of current quarter between the price range of Rs. 5,000-10,000.

It is aiming revenues of Rs. 400 crore from mobile business in 2012-12 and expects 20 percent of this to come from smartphones. "We are working towards achieving this number by launching new gadgets and expanding our after sales service," Kumar said.

According to a CyberMedia study, smartphone sales in the country increased by 87 percent to 11.2 million units in 2011 from 6 million units in 2010 compared to seven percent year-on-year growth in the feature phones category.

Over 150 smartphone models by more than 30 vendors were launched during 2011.

Intex has a distribution network with 100 super distributors, 500 distributors and over 13,000 retail partners in India.

"Intex is focusing on expanding channels. By the end of the financial year, we aim to double the number of our retail partners," Kumar said.